Comet Tiamat: Another Look
by ThatOneDanny
Summary: This is a collection of stories from five high school students living across Japan and their experience on the night of the 2013 Itomori Impact Event.


**October 4, 2013**

 **Name:** Satoshi Noboru

 **School:** Nibutani Senior High School

 **Location:** Tokyo, Japan

Today didn't start differently from any other day. It was Friday, which meant I only had to attend morning classes. After a bit of struggling to wake up, I threw on some clothes, ate a light breakfast, and began to walk to school. Once I was on the road, I began to lose my focus. I stared up at the sky and stared at the visible comet trail in awe. To me, the neon trails looked like the Aurora Borealis in the north. I stepped through the barriers at Nishi-Nippori station and walked up the stairs to the second platform. Within a couple of minutes it took to walk the stairs, a female voice over the loudspeaker announced that the Yamanote Line train would arrive in just a moment.

The train arrived, opened its doors, and while some people stepped out, I stepped in. I stood by the doors, taking advantage of the window and I took some photos of Comet Tiamat and posted them on my Twitter account. On my timeline, I saw a news article discussing the predictions about tonight's event.

After a short train ride to Kanda Station, I walked to school. I walked into the locker area, and replaced my outdoor sneakers with the school-provided _uwabaki_. Then, I walked into my classroom. A couple of other students were already there. So, I took my seat and pulled my notebook and textbook out of my bag. Sensei entered the classroom a half-hour later and called role. The first lesson of the day was statistics. Nothing really too interesting to be honest. Today's block was mainly about our upcoming big assignment. At the end of our second year, we started a project equivalent to a university student's thesis. My assignment was math related since that was my strongest subject.

The rest of the classes weren't too important. History followed the math class, and then a literature class. The interesting parts of the day were about to happen. My friend Togashi-san asked if I wanted to hang out for a bit. I agreed since I didn't have anything to do until later. We walked from Kanda station to Akihabara station and messed around all afternoon. We bought ice cream at the Baskin Robbins outside the station, explored Yodobashi Camera, and then found some retro arcade on the far side of the station. At one of the SEGA arcades, I wasted around 3,000 yen playing a Hatsune Miku rhythm games. Togashi-san played the Yamanote Line train driving simulator. He likes trains a lot.

As the sun began to dip behind the Tokyo skyline, Tiamat's comet trail began to shine in the sky. It's vibrant colours lit up the night sky like no one had ever seen before. Though, you could tell something big was happening. By 6 o'clock, the trains seemed almost deserted. I had a chance to sit down on the Yamanote Line at night! It was almost surreal, and the night was only just beginning.

When I arrived home, my mother prepared sukiyaki for my younger sister and me. She arrived home much earlier than I, and I was surprised to find her finishing her homework. She told me she would be on the balcony with me tonight. We pulled dad's broken, old telescope out of the storage closet a month ago and had it professionally cleaned and fixed. This morning my mother placed it on the balcony.

We ate dinner. Afterward, I dashed to my room, grabbed my camera, and then I stepped outside. A few minutes later, my younger sister walked outside, holding two mugs of hot cocoa. She placed them on the ledge and she took a seat. "You're gonna catch a cold, big brother." She told me, nudging me slightly.

"We never really do this sort of thing anymore." I thought aloud. She tilted her head and made an acknowledging sound. I snapped some more photographs. The vibrant comet trail shone through the night, even though the scattered clouds in my part of the city. The scene laid out in front of me felt like something out of a dream. Then, the night's events took a turn for the worse.

It looked like a fragment of Comet Tiamat split from the main comet. I started taking photos and my mother came outside. She had the TV inside tuned into the NHK News channel. She said that the scientists were reporting that the nucleus of the comet split and a fragment is headed towards the earth. After taking a couple more photographs, I sat down on the sofa in the living room. I posted what photos I took onto my LINE social feed, and then onto my Twitter account. My phone exploded with messages from two of my classmates in the Astronomy club. They sent attachments of possible impact paths and warnings all across western Japan. Then, the television went silent for a moment. The news anchor returned, and the text on the banner changed.

"We have confirmed reports that the fragment of Comet Tiamat has crashed outside of Hida City.." The NHK News anchor started, attempting to keep a calm expression on his face, "Though, we have _un_ confirmed reports that the town of Itomori has been almost completely destroyed. Prime Minister Abe has deployed rescue teams from the Self-Defense Force to examine and contain the situation. Gifu Prefecture has also deployed a special team to the area."

I had no idea how to react. Since my whole life revolved around Tokyo, I didn't think I knew anyone out that way. I sent my two classmates a simple message and took a photo of the television screen. The story covered the news for the next few days. The impact caused the effects of a magnitude 4.0 earthquake in the area as well. Surely this will be an event to be remembered.


End file.
